Hill v. State clears way to execution

The South Carolina Supreme Court has held that David Mark Hill is competent to waive his appeals and be executed. The Sun News story is here. Hill was convicted of murdering 3 DSS workers in Aiken County. He then shot himself through the head, surviving with some brain damage. Despite his attorneys’ best efforts, Hill has sought to waive his appeals and speed his execution. I suppose, if you were about to murder a person and that person said, “please, kill me now,” it would not make you change your mind about murdering them. You would murder them just the same. I empathize with Hill’s lawyers, who have done all that they could. The depth of this man’s sadness, and the circumstances that led him to this place, are overwhelming. I hope that he, and the families of the DSS workers, find peace before the end.